Birmingham native Peter Bradley Adams has covered a lot of territory—geographically and musically—since he left the city. He began playing piano at age 6, and went on to study music at the University of the South and then received a master’s in musical composition at the University of Alabama. As half of the duo eastmountainsouth, Adams was signed to RCA Records, and songs from the band’s sole album landed on soundtracks to “Elizabethtown,” “Alias” and other film and TV scores. He’s lived in Nashville, Tenn., Brooklyn, N.Y., and recently returned to Nashville.

The singer-songwriter, whose songs veer toward the ethereal and introspective, released his solo debut, a self-titled EP, in 2005. He and fellow musician Caitlin Canty collaborated under the name Down Like Silver on an eponymous 2011 EP. Bradley is preparing to release his fourth full-length solo album, “The Mighty Storm," and will perform at WorkPlay on June 28.

Birmingham magazine: When did you begin work on this project?

Peter Bradley Adams: The first, most of it was recorded in December, early December. There was a small batch of additional stuff that was recorded in March. It’s been kind of hanging around for a while.

BHAM: Where did you record?

PBA: Most of it was recorded at RCA’s Studio A. It’s this great, historic studio in Nashville that is now run by Ben Folds. He had it for years privately, but now he rents it out. It’s amazing.

We wanted to have a big room where everyone could be in the same room playing together. That’s the ideal. You can spread out in the room and it’s very convenient for that type of recording.

I live in Nashville now. But I may have done it here regardless because the players that I work with the most are here, and the studios are cheaper here. It was convenient that I live here, of course.

Peter Bradley Adams' forthcoming album will be titled "The Mighty Storm."

BHAM: Tell me about the process. What was on your mind as you began writing?

PBA: I didn’t really set out with a specific goal. I’m always working on a batch of songs, all the time. There’s always this batch that’s slowly building up. Some are getting tossed out, some are sticking around. I’m playing some of my shows. It just developed on its own as the batch that I would put on the record. There were some that I recorded the first time around that didn’t make it on a record, and I added a few the second time around. I might even add another one that I wrote last week.

BHAM: One of the challenges of any creative endeavor is letting it go. Because it’s an art, not a science, it’s subjective. So how do you say when it’s complete?

PBA: That’s one of the hardest things to do. It’s very painful and scary. And then you start thinking about the next one.

BHAM: The cycle of creativity continues on (and if it doesn’t, we better look for work!). But let’s talk about the difference between your solo albums and duos.

PBA: For some people from the distance, some of the songs on Down like Silver could easily go on my solo projects. … (But) they somehow remain separate in our minds. Maybe they’re not separate to anyone else, but they’re separate to us. The song “Wolves,” for example, I would never perform that without (Caitlin Canty).

Some of it is also just the fun of collaborating. That’s just one of the great things about music, especially if you’re in a musical community, you get to write and perform and record with people. People are very collaborative (in Nashville).

BHAM: How does Nashville compare to Brooklyn with regard to music?

PBA: I think it’s kind of more concentrated music here. There’s obviously a lot more diversity of people and cultures and artistic endeavors up there. People are doing more wildly different things. There are more actors and writers and visual artists in New York. You get the sense that it’s mostly music happening here.

But that’s starting to change, which is really exciting. All types of artists are starting to move here. You’re getting a sense that this isn’t just a songwriting town.

DETAILS

Peter Bradley Adams’ “The Mighty Storm” will be released in late summer. Learn more at peterbradleyadams.com.

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